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Chapter 2
The second chapter of the book 'Of Mice and Men' in which Lennie and George travel to the ranch and begin to experience the life, and meet the people, there. Summary Here we meet a much larger range of characters than previously introduced and also get to see how George and Lennie react to meeting their quirky future co-workers. Some are friendly and some aren't but George is happy to have a job, and doesn't want Lennie to ruin his chances, while Lennie is happier still just because he is proposed a puppy by one of the more complacent workers. Characters The first new character we are introduced to is a fairly amiable and talkative 'old man' called Candy who is the ranch's swamper (general handyman). He settles George and Lennie into their living quarters by comforting any qualms that George comes up with. It is revealed that he is the owner of a very old collie dog who's stench is more than enough to annoy the comparatively regal Slim. Slim is a figure to whom George appears to look up to as a person and he is seemingly intelligent and calm. Despite this, he doesn't show any hints of emotion and reveals that he has drowned puppies, however, Lennie is offered as many of the remaining puppies as he wishes so neither George nor Lennie appear to show any dislike towards him. His role at the ranch is as a respected 'skinner', leader of the mule workers. Upon meeting Lennie and George, the ranch owner was not overly happy that Lennie did not talk (he was ordered not to by George) and appears to be suspicious of the two men. Their confrontation is short-lived though and George seemed fairly unconcerned afterwards, blaming Lennie for the suspicion as he broke his silence. A far more sinister or at least unfriendly member of the staff is Curley who seems to take immediate dislike to Lennie which George puts down as being due to Curley's diminuitive stature. Threats are sent towards Lennie from Curley but George retorts back and eventually Curley leaves angrily. Undoubtedly he had a bad impression of the both of them. In order to stop further aggrevation, George and Lennie vowed to stay away from Curley's less than shy wife but Lennie in particular manages to fall to her 'beauty' when they meet in a barn. There is little interaction but she is seems a very extrovert character. Setting In this chapter, life on a ranch is revealed in a lot more detailed by how the ranch looks and the different areas it consists of. First of all, George and Lennie meet with some people in the 'bunk house' which seems to be a fair-sized dormitory which was painted white to give it some light and character but due to its lack of large windows it remains dark and dingy. A lot of beds are in the room which gives it a sense of crowdedness and perhaps makes it seem less comfortable. The ranch seems to mainly consist of barley fields and presumably grazing pastures for the livestock. There are also smaller outbuildings such as barns in which, for example, they meet Curley's wife. Themes and Writing Style John Steinbeck starts to reveal more of his writing style in this chapter by giving us more of an insight into his sentimental side. This is showed through the longing of George and Lennie to achieve their life long dream; to no longer be ranchers and have their own house. We see this through the George's determination to get a stake on the ranch, and not to let Lennie get into any mischief. Also, we begin to see the theme of friendship come through, as George becomes more protective of Lennie: " But I say he's a God damn good worker." This suggests the theme of friendship as George is proud and flaunts Lennie's positive qualities. Conclusion and Final Comment To conclude, chapter 2 of the book "Of Mice and Men" gives us an insight into the types of people working on ranches and why they work there. Furthermore, the living conditions and setting on the ranch is described setting the book up for the following chapters and rest of the book. We also briefly meet the owner of the ranch, but we see little of him, adding to a feeling of loneliness which the ranchers experience.